Monday, February 28, 2011

Carnetta Boyd was lured to Corbett by her sister, and she is thrilled that it happened! Living in a "busy and noisy" spot in Aloha, the mother of four was ready for some serene living. After hearing how much sister Phyllis loved Corbett, Carnetta and husband Sonny ventured out to an Open House on the Scenic Hwy. in 1999. Moving here in time for their youngest son to attend and graduate from Corbett High, Carnetta says she just loves the community. Living near the Women's Forum, she says many folks stop near her home to take scenic photos, and she enjoys getting to meet folks from literally all over the world. She shares information with them about spots to visit as well as helps take photos of whole groups so no one has to be the one taking the shot! Carnetta was involved on the Board for the Springdale School but has had to step off because she is so busy being a part of the NERT team (Neighborhood Emergency Response Team) as well as being involved with NEMCA (North East Multnomah Co. Community Association). NEMCA started in 1959 as a volunteer group wanting to get an exit ramp for Corbett! Carnetta also started 3 years ago with the Hazard Mitigation Committee for Multnomah County with Kathleen Reiter. In her "free" time she loves to sing and is quite good! Her and her husband team up with sister Phyllis to sing in a trio called "Timeless Trilogy." They sing at local events all over Corbett as well as churches. They are always looking for new gigs and are for hire for weddings, parties and other social events. Carnetta says it is the people that make Corbett truly "home" for her and her family.

Bill McGinnis is famous around Corbett for his pickles. Before Dorthy Larsen passed away, she shared with Bill her special recipe. Bill took his 15 years of previous pickle experience and some jalapeno peppers, and played around with Dorthy's recipe. He now has some pretty "famous" pickled pickles that he freely shares with family and friends every year. Bill says it has been about 30 years now since he first started. Bill retired 12 years ago as a Civil Engineer. He and wife Judy moved to Corbett from SE Portland in 1985. They found nearly 80 acres of land and built a pole barn. It was always Judy's dream to live in a log home, so they lived in their barn for 18 months while they built the home. Each weekend they had a party on the property and many Corbett folks heard about the fun and came out to help build and get to know the new neighbors. Bill says those are some of his very fondest memories since first buying the land in 1984. Bill has volunteers at the Grange Hall each Monday to help cook a hot meal for all the seniors in the community and has also been a volunteer Corbett firefighter for 11 years. He is no longer active as a firefighter, but is on the Board for the Fire Dept. Bill will freely tell you that he and Judy are "living the dream" out here in Corbett. Each Christmas they have a holiday gathering and invite friends and neighbors. Although they both love to travel, it is the wonderful community that always reminds them that "there is no place like home!"

Sunday, February 13, 2011

Moving to the United States from India at age 19, Elaine was married, a mother and unsure just what direction her life was headed! The government of India only allowed her and husband Oscar to have $7.00 when leaving the country. Arriving in 1970, Elaine had to wait 3 months after Oscar to enter the U.S. through San Francisco. Oscar is 12 years Elaine's senior and college educated as an engineer. He was able to find work and they eventually purchased a home. Living in Portland for five years, they spotted some pasture land in Corbett and decided to build. Working hard to do the majority of work themselves, they moved in one week after the birth of their fourth child. Elaine did not even have a kitchen sink yet! It was a "work in progress" as they moved in and raised their children. All of the kids attended Corbett Schools grades K-8 and then transferred to Central Catholic High. Elaine was involved with all of the children's activities, even dressing in a sari and cooking food to bring in to the school to teach the Corbett kids about India. At one point, all four kids made a trip to India with their parents to learn more about their heritage. Elaine's mother came from India at age 80 and lived with the family in Corbett until she passed at age 91. Throughout the years, Elaine was thrilled to find out that in the States, that one could check out books for FREE at the public libraries! Elaine studied diligently over the years about gardening, eventually joining the Corbett Gardening Club. Turning her 3 acres of pasture and a bit of woodlands into landscaped eye candy, she has been featured in national magazines such as "Sunset" and "Better Homes and Gardens." Elaine has chosen to give back to the community by landscaping numerous public areas in our community gratis. She also started her own business and hires herself out to design landscaping for others. And to think, it all started at the public library!

Thursday, February 10, 2011

Moving to Corbett was a four year project for Sue Fry and her family. Signing papers to purchase the raw land on their five year wedding anniversary, Peter and Susan Fry began their dream. A friend from their days together at the Univ. of Oregon, designed their home for them. (His first ever!) Other friends helped them actually build their home. Definitely a labor love is what Sue recalls as she talks of many hours of dirty labor in the evenings and on the weekends when they drove out from their home in Portland. Sue loves the fact that every year seems to bring a new project for them. A barn, arena, orchard, trails, etc. Over time they have developed many horse trails on their property and they actually give the Corbett 4H kids access through their property for riding. When Sue met Peter in college, the first thing she asked him was "Do you like horses?" When he gave a positive reply, it was then she knew things could work out! Sue loves the fact that their property is well suited for her passion. The Fry's three children are all grown now, ranging in age from 26-33. Sue has many fond memories of raising their kids here. Son Danny is an Eagle Scout, all the kids played sports, and the girls were involved with Camp Fire. Sue was heavily involved in all their activities as well as serving on the PTA, and on the budget committee at the Corbett Water District. She also had involvement with the Guardians of Larch Mountain and working with land use issues involving Howard Canyon. One of Sue's favorite memories was when the kids were younger, she and other local moms would tell the kids if they had their chores done by noon, they could go to Rooster Rock to swim. At noon cars would get loaded with kids, sandwiches, drinks and blankets. Many hours were spent splashing around and having a grand time!

Karl Vockert's father was from Germany and moved his family to Corbett in 1941 when Karl was just five years old. Karl helped his father on the family farm until he went off to OSU for a college degree in Agricultural Economics. After graduating, Karl went into the Air Force for 14 years then tranferred to the "intelligence business" of the Army for an additional 16 years! Karl was able to travel all over the world while his parents continued living on the family farm in Corbett. Karl got married in 1972 and came back to Corbett in 1977 when his parents passed so he could take over the family farm. Karl has three grown children that were raised in Corbett and are now living in Alaska, Germany and Korea. Retired now, Karl is living on the large acreage, running cattle on the land. He appreciates that his property is so vast that he can look in any direction and not see a single neighbor. Not that he doesn't like people! He volunteers up at the Grange on a regular basis, and greatly appreciates that his children learned some pretty significant social skills as they played outdoors often and formed life long bonds with their peers. He recalls that one day back in 1977, a bridge needed to be built to get across a creek on some property. So many neighbors showed up to help that it was completely built in a single day! He has always appreciated a strong sense of belonging. Looking back at this family of origin, Karl says that there are several (about 20-25!) veterinarians in the family. He said that his family fled the Communists and had no land, and so went to school to become vets! Karl took a different path but has a brother who became a vet. If any of his cattle need help, he knows just who to call!

Tuesday, February 8, 2011

In 1926, Catherine Baker Dunlap was born next door to where she now resides with her husband of 64 years. Dr. Hughes from Gresham came out to the family home to deliver her and she has lived in nearly the same spot ever since. Attending school in Aims for grades 1-8, Catherine attended high school in Corbett. She vividly remembers the difficult Depression years. Dad farmed and also sold wood that he logged. Although never hungry living on the family farm, she well remembers putting the high school yearbook together with ribbon because they were not able to get any needed brads to get the job done. After high school graduation, Catherine went to work at the weather bureau set up at Crown Point. The current weatherperson had been drafted, and Catherine was selected for the job! Both her brothers went off to war, one with the Navy, the other with the Air Force. Brother Jim had met Frank Dunlap from Ohio while in the Navy, so when Jim came home from serving, Frank decided to visit him while docked in Astoria. One set of eyes laid on Catherine, and the rest was history! They dated five times while Frank was in Astoria and both knew it was something special. They met in March and married in December. Catherine was 20 years old. Getting married in Gresham, they put together a diesel shed and a grain house to create a home. This is the home they currently reside in, and have added on a total of six times! Giving birth to two daughters, Catherine had difficulties with her pregnancies. After the age of 40 when the girls were 12 and 14, she and Frank still yearned for more children, so they went on to adopt SEVEN children. Not all of the children were white, and they were a variety of ages as well. All adoptions were from the Children's Services in Portland. The road they live on has been moved over the years so that their home is nearly right on the road. As a result, they have had numerous folks stop over the years for assistance or just to say "hello." They try to always leave their light on, and help all that stop by. Over the years Catherine has been involved with all her children's activities as well as being involved with the PTA and and on the school board. When folks think of someone living a very FULL life, they need to think of Catherine Dunlap!

Warrendale is named after Frank Warren who created the fish wheel. Dodson is named after the man who created the pulp mill. If you live on the south side of I-84 you are in Warrendale, and if on the north side, you are in Dodson. When people mention where they live, no matter the side of the interstate, they say they live in "Dodson/Warrendale." Megan Pardue Webb and her family moved to Dodson/Warrendale in 1988, and she has been there ever since. Bonneville Grade School was the only school in its district and kids in grades K-8 attended. When the 1996 mudslides took place, the school was ruined. The 6-8th graders finished their year at Corbett, while all the younger kids moved to the Bonneville Dam auditorium. The following year the district closed the school forever and all the kids began attending Corbett schools. The Bonneville School was later sold to locals who currently use it as a storage facility. Megan loved attending school in Corbett and was very involved. The oldest of three kids, she was often attending her brother's football games as well as volunteering with the Key Club and Kiwanis. Now married to Dean, they have a son and daughter. Megan is a volunteer with the Cascade Locks Fire Dept. and also works part time for Discover Your Northwest as a Forest Service Information Specialist at Skamania Lodge. Once a captain with the fire dept., she has volunteered a total of 10 years, and this is where she also met her husband. Megan is an EMT and plans to further her training and education once her children are a bit older. Megan loves raising her family in the same location where she was raised. Being at the Jeff Lucas Stadium memorial made her realize more than ever just how special it is to live in this area. It showed her how group effort and determination can get just about anything accomplished!

Sunday, February 6, 2011

Steve Adams is a transplant from Gresham. He and his family moved to Corbett in 1997. While dining at Heidi's restaurant in Gresham, he and wife Dawn saw a real estate magazine advertising land in Corbett. Driving by the property, they stopped and saw boats going up and down the Columbia River. It was then they knew this was the spot for them. They made an offer on the land and then Steve built their current home. Raising a son and daughter in Corbett, one is now married, the other heading off to college in the fall. Over the years, a favorite memory for Steve has been building floats to enter in the July 4th Parade with his kids. Now that the kids are grown, he and Dawn still try to watch the parade each year. Steve enjoys the magnificent views from the many windows in their home. Despite the weather, it is always a great view to see both up and down the river. As a contractor the last 25 years in the Portland eastside area, Steve has purchased numerous homes and either flipped them for a profit or kept them for a rental. Both he and Dawn are always looking for their "next project." When not busy with construction, one can find him on the slopes of Mt. Hood (he has already skied 20 times this season) or out on the lake water skiing. He greatly enjoys the outdoors and staying active. When asked if he plans to move anytime soon, it was a short and sweet answer. "No."

Wednesday, February 2, 2011

I hope you are enjoying this blog. I know that I certainly am enjoying sitting down to spend time with folks in our fabulous Corbett community. Of course most of you know I sell real estate. For me, it is relationships that I develop along the way that are more important than transactions. Working by referral is all about trust. And let's face it, when we are seeking any service we are all looking for someone we can trust~ someone proven who comes highly recommended and is already on our side. I am now beginning my fourth year in the business and it has been quite the journey! I specialize in rural property and the Portland Eastside. I know and understand very clearly that it is "tough times" out there, but I am determined to continue working hard to serve those I care about. I also want to use this blog to help promote others and the work they are involved with. If you know of a Corbett resident that could use a little "plug" for their business, please DO let me know. We are all here to help one another!
If you wish to be included on my email list that will keep you updated on our very LOCAL market, please email me at MCSmith@equitygroup.com. I will never pressure you. Ever.
Thanks, and I hope you continue to enjoy reading what people are very graciously sharing with me!
Stay WARM~ Michelle

Tuesday, February 1, 2011

This home on Corbett Hill Road is custom built with over 3,100 sq. ft. on 1.78 acres. It is CLEAN and beautiful. It is currently in short sale status, selling for a mere $349K. If you know of anyone looking to move into Corbett, NOW is the time to take a look at this home. 3 bed, 2.5 bath, living room, family room AND bonus room! Call today for your private showing. #971-221-9655.

Seth Grover's great grandparents moved to Corbett for employment and purchased 80 acres. When age slowed them down, they gave their acreage to his grandparents and moved into town. When age slowed his grandparents down, they gave each of their kids five acres to build on and sold the rest, moving into town as well. Seth's dad used his gift of land to build a house and raise a family. Seth has lived his entire life in Corbett and is quite happy with that. Graduating in 2009 from Corbett High, he is now working at Fairview Target, and is busy with volunteering his time with Corbett Community Church's youth program. He also is a new volunteer in training at the Corbett Fire Dept.. Seth enjoys the fact it takes at least 15 minutes for him to get from his family's home to anywhere in town. He has a great appreciation for all the seclusion and quiet on the family property. A favorite memory growing up here was in 2005 when the Corbett Football team beat Portland Christian for the league championship. Seth was a freshman, playing receiver and on special teams. Seth loves the fact that everyone in Corbett is friendly and waves at one another. He said he has always felt safe and a strong sense of belonging. As he volunteers at the church and fire department, Seth only adds to the emotional and physical security for the rest of us!

Brian Paul married his sweetheart, Tamara in 1991. It was their dream to one day live in Corbett. In 1992 they rented the small cottage on the corner of Mershon Rd. and the Scenic Hwy. from Floyd and Dorthy Bates. This is where son Jacob came to live when he was born, and they have since had another son and daughter. After renting the cottage, the Paul's purchased the "Old Canzler Place" located between the Springdale Tavern and the church. Employment drew them up to Washington for a time, and yet NO one in the family was happy with the relocation. Fortunately they made their way back to the loving arms of "their" Corbett community. Last year they purchased the yellow home with the huge shop just across the road from Big Bear's Market. Jacob has now graduated from Corbett High and keeps busy with a part-time job there while also attending college. Brian is helping to coach the Corbett Boy's Basketball team and had a successful season as the Varsity Boy's Soccer coach. Not only is he a busy coach, but has also started work at Starbucks in Gresham. Need any brake work done? Brian is able to use his enormous shop to help friends and family with car repairs, specializing in brake work. He is also quite handy with any type of remodeling work. When asked what the favorite part of his home/property is, the obvious answer was "the shop!!" Brian says he has no interest in moving again. He says Corbett is the best place ever to live, and it is the people that make it so special.

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About Me

Michelle Carter Smith
Corbett, Oregon, United States

This site will be ALL about the people, activities and real estate of CORBETT, Oregon... one of the very finest places to live and breathe. Anytime you want to comment, please call me at #971-221-9655.